Snap CEO Evan Spiegel takes a dig at Meta's history of copying Snapchat

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel mocks Meta for copying Snapchat features on LinkedIn.

: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel humorously updated his LinkedIn title to 'VP Product @ Meta,' pointing at Meta's history of copying Snapchat's features. The rivalry dates back to 2013, highlighted by Meta’s imitation, notably Instagram Stories, contributing to Snapchat’s stalled growth. Despite copying, Meta executives defend their approach, citing industry practice.

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, took a playful jab at Meta's copying tendencies by listing himself as 'VP Product @ Meta' on LinkedIn, referring to Meta's notorious replication of Snapchat features. This includes Instagram's Stories, a direct replica of Snapchat’s ephemeral content feature, significantly affecting Snapchat's growth and market share.

The rivalry between Snap and Meta goes back to Spiegel's 2013 rejection of Facebook's $3 billion buyout offer, and the subsequent adoption of Snapchat's features by Meta. Instagram's Stories, disappearing messages, and face filters were all inspired by Snapchat, leading to Instagram surpassing Snapchat in daily users by 2018.

Despite Meta's lack of remorse, Spiegel's reactions have been mixed, expressing pride in the originality of his ideas while also wishing Meta would adopt Snapchat's data protection ethos. Kevin Weil and Kevin Systrom from Instagram acknowledge borrowing from Snapchat, with Systrom even crediting Snapchat for the Stories idea.